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Denzel Washington blasts media for selling 'BS'

Judy Kurtz
The Hill
Wed, 07 Dec 2016 15:21 UTC
Denzel Washington
© ReutersDenzel Washington
He was at the center of a fake news story, but Denzel Washington says it's the mainstream media that's selling "BS."

"If you don't read the newspaper, you're uninformed. If you do read it, you're misinformed," Washington, the star and director behind the new film "Fences," told ITK at the Wednesday premiere inside the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

"Fences," based on an award-winning play of the same name, also features Viola Davis and centers on the life of a black family in 1950s Pittsburgh. It is set to be released on Christmas.

Washington was the subject of a phony story earlier this year that falsely claimed he was switching his support of then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton to GOP White House hopeful Donald Trump.
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USA

Donald Trump named TIME Person of the Year for 2016


RT
Wed, 07 Dec 2016 14:45 UTC
Time Magazine - Trump -
© Time Magazine
Donald Trump has been named TIME magazine's Person of the Year. Trump sees off former UKIP leader Nigel Farage, the Flint whistleblowers and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Donald Trump went from reality TV star and businessman to president-elect of the United States. The controversial billionaire tapped into the frustrations of ordinary Americans and claimed victory in a close election that was both brutal and shocking.

Despite coming out with countless controversial statements, Trump succeeded in beating rival Hillary Clinton, a career politician with decades of experience to take the role of commander-in-chief. Love him or hate him, 2016 was the year of Trump.
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Biohazard

Thousands of snow geese die after landing in toxic waters of Montana pit mine


RT
Wed, 07 Dec 2016 13:08 UTC
Flock of geese
© Mathieu Belanger / Reuters
Thousands of snow geese died after landing in the toxic waters of an old open-pit copper mine in Butte, Montana. The migrating birds were forced to land in Berkeley Pit on November 28 by severe winter weather.

Mark Thompson, environmental affairs manager for mining company Montana Resources, said that it looked like "seven-hundred acres of white birds" had landed, AP reported.

"I can't underscore enough how many birds were in the Butte area that night. Numbers beyond anything we've ever experienced in our 21 years of monitoring by several orders of magnitude," Thompson said
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Fire

Over 38 workers dead in China after two coal mine explosions in a week

Ben Blanchard
The independent (UK)
Sat, 03 Dec 2016 08:55 UTC
Mine disaster in Heilongjiang, China
© ReutersRescuers work to try and free any surviving trapped miners in Heilongjiang

Two separate disasters raise further grave questions over country's industrial safety record

At least 38 people have died in two separate coal mine disasters in China in the last five days, state media said, the latest accidents in a country with a poor record of industrial safety.

In the first incident, authorities confirmed on Friday night that 21 people died after a coal mine blast in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang, the official Xinhua news agency said.

It happened at a private coal mine in Qitaihe city late on Tuesday, trapping 22 workers underground, it said. Rescue work continues in an attempt to reach the one person left trapped. Four people have been arrested in connection with the disaster.

On Saturday, 17 people died in a coal mine explosion in northern China's Inner Mongolia region, China's official Xinhua News Agency reported.

Four miners were rescued after the blast, which occurred as 31 people were working underground, said the Chifeng city government in China's Inner Mongolia region.
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Info

John Kasich responds to Electoral College: Don't cast your vote for me


CNN
Tue, 06 Dec 2016 03:03 UTC
John Kasich
© Brian Snyder/ReutersJohn Kasich
Ohio Gov. John Kasich doesn't want to take Donald Trump's place as President-elect of the United States.

The former Republican presidential candidate, who ran against Trump in the primary, tweeted Tuesday asking that electors in the Electoral College not cast their votes for him when they meet December 19.

Kasich tweeted a statement that said, "I am not a candidate for president and ask that electors not vote for me when they gather later this month. Our country had an election and Donald Trump won. The country is divided and there are certainly raw emotions on both sides stemming from the election. But this approach, as well meaning as it is, will only serve to further divide our nation, when unity is what we need."
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Info

Three Florida voters seek presidential election recount


RT
Tue, 06 Dec 2016 23:18 UTC
voting booth
© Joe Raedle / Getty Images / AFP
Voters in Florida have filed for a presidential election hand recount in their state, arguing that Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton won more votes than President-elect Donald Trump. The plaintiff's own lawyers said time isn't on their side.

In a lawsuit filed Monday in the central Florida Leon circuit court, the three plaintiffs argued the state's official election results were off because of hacking, malfunctioning voting machines and other problems, and that Clinton won more votes in the state than Donald Trump.

In an unusual move, the three voters demanded a hand recount of every paper ballot in the state at the expense of defendants including President-elect Trump, Gov. Rick Scott and 29 Republican presidential electors from Florida. Trump got more than 4.6 million votes in Florida, beating Clinton by more than 112,000 votes.
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Bizarro Earth

North Dakota crude pipeline shut down after spill


RT
Wed, 07 Dec 2016 01:39 UTC
Oil spill - file photo
© Jacob Slaton / Reuters
A crude oil transmission pipeline has been shut down in western North Dakota following a leak that spilled oil into a creek. The state's health department said it has sent personnel to the site.

"A series of booms have been placed across the creek to prevent downstream migration and a siphon dam has been constructed four miles downstream of the release point," Bill Suess, spill investigation program manager for the North Dakota Department of health, said, according to Reuters.

The health agency said the spill was discovered on Monday and an unknown volume of oil leaked from the pipeline operated by Bell Fourche Pipeline Company into Ash Coulee Creek, 16 miles northwest of Belfield in Billings County. The leak is 200 miles away from protests taking place over the building of the Dakota Access Pipeline.
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2 + 2 = 4

Singapore, other Asian nations remain at top of international education rankings


RT
Tue, 06 Dec 2016 19:20 UTC
asian nations education rankings
© OECD / YouTube
The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) has released its newest mass comparative survey of school education across 72 different countries, which sees Singapore, Hong Kong and other affluent Chinese-majority entities top the table.

Last year, PISA, which is funded by the OECD, gave a standardized test to 540,000 15-year-olds, examining their proficiency in reading, math, and science, the first such survey for three years.

Singapore came first in every one of the three categories.

A PISA case study supplied with the survey says that while the historical success of Singapore was based on efficiently preparing students for its burgeoning manufacturing sector, in recent years there has been a move towards "increased flexibility and variety" and now "each school in Singapore offers a range of learning experiences to develop students holistically."
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Che Guevara

Fidel Castro's remarkable legacy

Marjorie Cohn
Truthdig
Fri, 02 Dec 2016 21:36 UTC
castro
© Marcelo Montecino / Flickr Fidel Castro in Havana in 1978.
When Fidel Castro died on Nov. 25 at the age of 90, we lost one of the most remarkable leaders of the 20th century. No other head of state has so steadfastly stood up to the United States and survived.

In 1959, the Cuban Revolution, led by Castro and Ernesto "Che" Guevara, overthrew the ruthless Fulgencio Batista, who had come to power in a coup d'état. Batista's government had protected the interests of the wealthy landowners. In order to control the populace, Batista had carried out torture and public executions, killing as many as 20,000 people. During his regime, Batista was supported—financially and militarily—by the United States. Indeed, the U.S. Mafia's gambling, drug and prostitution operations flourished under Batista's government.

Led by Castro, the new Cuban government expropriated U.S.-owned property, companies and holdings in Cuba. The United States responded with a punishing economic embargo, which later became a blockade. The CIA attempted unsuccessfully to overthrow the revolution in the disastrous 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion.

Since 1959, the U.S. government and the expatriated Cuban-Americans who fled Cuba after the revolution have tried mightily to topple the Castro government, without success. Castro survived more than 630 assassination attempts.

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Pistol

Ukraine: Deadly incident of 'friendly fire' under investigation


Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
Mon, 05 Dec 2016 00:00 UTC
Shootout Ukraine
© AFPScene of deadly gunfire incident in Knyazichi.
Ukrainian authorities say Prosecutor-General Yuriy Lutsenko will personally oversee the probe into what officials are calling a "friendly fire" shootout between police and state guards service agents that left at least five law-enforcement officers dead.

Authorities say the deadly incident occurred at about 4 a.m. on December 4, during a search for suspected armed robbers in the village of Knyazichi outside Kyiv.

The Prosecutor-General's Office said on its website on December 5 that the Kyiv regional prosecutor's office had given the green light for investigations into the shooting. Ukrainian media reports said that a number of armed robbery suspects were detained later on December 4.

President Petro Poroshenko on December 4 said the tragedy "should not be politicized" and called on Ukrainians "not to use it to destabilize" the situation in the country.
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